Senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leader and author P. Jayarajan has clarified on a Facebook post following controversy over his recent visit to the Sreekurumba Bhagavathy temple at Kodungalloor in Thrissur district that the visit was part of research work for his upcoming book and was not an act of devotion.

Mr. Jayarajan, who visited the temple recently, spent around half an hour on the temple premises and walked around the complex. However, it is reported that he did not offer prayers at the sanctum of the temple.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders alleged that P. Jayarajan had gone to the temple for darshan, but left quickly after realising that people were watching.

Responding to reports and criticism, Mr. Jayarajan explained his position in the Facebook post. He rejected claims that communists were barred from visiting places of worship.

Non-Brahmanical rituals

“I am currently working on a book titled Sanathanikalude Hindutva Vazhikal. One chapter examines non-Brahmanical ritual practices that still exist in certain places of worship. Kodungalloor Kavu is one such important site,” he wrote in the post.

“Although I had learned about the temple through studies and local knowledge, I had never visited it personally. So I decided to see it directly and understand its unique historical and cultural features, including spots like Kozhikallu, Thavittumuthi and Vasoorimala.”

He added in his Facebook post: “the insights and observations gained from here will naturally become part of my book to be released later this month. I am writing this in response to reports in some news channels claiming that I had visited the Kodungalloor temple as an act of worship.”

'Visited many religious sites'

Taking a swipe at critics, he remarked: “some people seem to have been misled into believing that communists are not allowed to visit places of worship. Not just Kodungalloor Kavu, I have visited many well-known and lesser-known religious sites across Kerala. I have been to Ajmer Dargah, the Golden Temple in Punjab, and several churches. I have used all these visits not as expressions of devotion, but as opportunities to better understand society, history, and people’s beliefs.”

"Communists generally try to understand society in all its complexities. I am well aware of how the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) politically misuses faith and places of worship. In my writings, speeches, and life experiences so far, I have tried to highlight evidence of this, and I will continue to do so," he added in his post.

Mr. Jayarajan stressed that such visits were not acts of faith but opportunities to understand society.